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Fabrizio Romano issues Carlos Espi update after shock Brighton and Real Madrid claim All the latest transfer news and gossip for Brighton and Hove Albion and across the Premier League Brighton have missed out on signing Spanish striker Carlos Espí. The Seagulls were in talks with Levante for the 21-year-old and reportedly triggered the £25m release clause. However the move was quickly scuppered as Spanish giants Real Madrid swooped at the last minute and tempted Espi to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Espi, who scored 11 goals in La Liga last season, signed for £25m on a five-year contract. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano posted: “BREAKING: Real Madrid sign Carlos Espí as new striker, here we go! €25m release clause activated from Levante with formal letter sent to the club tonight. Spanish striker joins immediately with medical in Madrid today.” It's a blow for Brighton as they seek to find a replacement for veteran frontrunner Danny Welbeck who is about to join Chelsea for around £5m. The 35-year-old is expected to complete his medical and join his new Chelsea teammates on their pre-season tour in Hong Kong. Sussex World verdict The main positive to come from this is that Brighton are actoively seeking to bolster their attack following the news that Danny Welbeck is leaving. Espi impressed in the Spanish top flight last term and Brighton looked in pole position to grab him until Madrid made their interest known at the last minute. It’s hard to resist the advances of Madrid but would he be better playing regular football in the Premier League rather than battling for minutes here and there at Bernabéu? Time will tell. Albion will no doubt move on to their next target but they need to act fast as their Conference League and Premier League season starts in around 20 days time. As is stands Brighton have Charalampos Kostoulas and Georginio as their fit front runners. Stefanos Tzimas continues his recovery from an ACL injury and is unlikely to be ready for the new season. Evan Ferguson, who was on loan at Roma last term, is also out of action at the moment as he recovers from his ankle surgery at the back end of last season.